No sign of truce as Palestinian death toll nearly 50

Published November 18th, 2012 - 08:03 GMT

The Israeli army conducted early Sunday new raids on Gaza, killing at least two people in the Palestinian enclave

The Israeli army conducted early Sunday new raids on Gaza, killing at least two people in the Palestinian enclave, where six journalists were wounded following an attack on the offices of a television channel.

Israeli air strikes hit a media center in central Gaza City early Sunday, wounding at least six journalists, Palestinian medical sources said. "At least six journalists were wounded when Israeli warplanes hit the office of al-Quds television channel located in Showa Housari complex in the Rimal neighborhood," said Ashraf al-Qoudra, a spokesman for the health services in Gaza. One of the journalists lost a leg, doctors said.

Journalists inside were evacuated after a first raid, which was followed by at least two strikes on this site. Al-Quds channel is considered close to Hamas.

Additionally, Israeli navy positioned off the enclave, also intensively bombed Gaza City overnight, according to AFP.

In the north of the enclave, not far from the border with Israel, two Palestinians were killed and ten wounded in two separate raids on homes, added al-Qoudra.

At least 16 Palestinians were killed Saturday, bringing to 48 the number of Palestinians killed since Wednesday within the Israeli military operation "Pillar of Defense" against the Gaza Strip.

Three Israelis were also killed, while about 400 Palestinians and 18 Israelis were injured.

At the same time, 733 rockets were fired at Israel, including 243 intercepted by the missile defense system "Iron Dome." Israel reported that 950 targets were hit in Gaza.

Despite this, the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was optimistic Saturday, citing contacts with both sides and "some indications on the possibility of a cease-fire soon." He made these comments during a press conference with Prime Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi is expected to lead a ministerial delegation to Gaza in solidarity with ethe Palestinians, the organization announced after an emergency meeting in Cairo.

The White House has stressed that "the firing of rockets from Gaza was the triggering factor of this conflict," recognizing Israel's "right to defend itself and decide what tactics to use."

The French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, is expected Sunday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Nearly half of the 48 Palestinians killed were non-combatants, including six children and three women, conveyed medics and human rights organizations.

On Saturday night, five houses of Hamas military commanders have been targeted by raids, according to the movement and witnesses.

Besides the headquarters of the Hamas government, the raids targeted the headquarters of the police, the Islamic University and the "Palestine" stadium, the main sports stadium in Gaza.